Pyongyang [North Korea], January 1 : Issuing a warning that a clash could happen in the Korean Peninsula anytime, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered its army to "thoroughly annihilate" the US and South Korea if a provocation is made, Yonhap news agency reported, citing state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim called for perfecting the military's readiness posture, saying the Korean Peninsula is "inching closer to the brink of armed conflict" and a clash could happen at any time.
He made the remark during a meeting with major commanding officers of the Korean People's Army at the office building of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Sunday, according to KCNA.
During the meeting, Kim analyzed in detail "the critical security environment on the Korean peninsula inching closer to the brink of armed conflict as the days go by and the nature of the US and other hostile forces' military confrontation moves".
"He said that the situation indicates the urgency to further sharpen the treasured sword for safeguarding the security and peace of the DPRK and perfect the army's regular military response posture," it added referring to the acronym for the North's official name.
Kim also said it is a fait accompli that an "armed conflict may occur any time."
"The more dynamically the Korean revolution advances, the more desperately the US imperialists and the ROK clan try to stop it," he was quoted as saying.
He further stressed that "our army should frustrate any forms of provocations of the enemy without fail with firm hostility towards the enemy."
"If the enemy opt for military confrontation and provocation against the DPRK, our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilizing all the toughest means and potentialities without moment's hesitation," KCNA quoted the North Korean leader as saying.
Meanwhile, in a huge statement, Kim said that North Korea will no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, as his nation vowed to put three new military spy satellites into orbit in 2024, CNN reported.
Kim said inter-Korean relations had become "a relationship between two hostile countries and two belligerents at war," the state-run news agency KCNA reported.
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